Sport shorts



Patented June 10, 1 952 SPORT SHORTS William R. s. MacR'ae, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and Arthur R. Kneibler, Kenosha,

WiS'.,

assignors to Coopers Incorporated,

K'enosha, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application September 10, 1949, Serial No. 114,970

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an improved formof shorts suitable for wear as an outer garment when participatin in various sports such as swimming, golfing, hiking, or the like, and more particularly to shorts that provide the wearer with body support, the amount which may be adjusted independently of the disposition of the waistline of the outer portion o1" the garment".

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved form of such shorts which are designed particularly for mens use, although not restricted thereto; to provide such a garment which incorporates a pair of outer trunks" and relatively independent inner garment, the front portion of the waistline of which is independently adjustable with respect to the front portion of the waistline of the outer trunks; to provide shorts comprising a pair of outer trunksand arelatively independent inner garment, the latter being pref erably removably secured to said outer trunks so that it may be quickly and easily removed for drying separately, if desired, or for washing or replacement with anothersi'milar inner garment;

to provide a garment which is exceptionally comfortable and which. always presents a neat-,. trim line at the point ofi contact of the outer trunks and the abdomen olthe wearen.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become evident asthe description proceeds and from an examination or" the accompanying. drawings which, illustrate one embodiment of the invention and. in whibhsi'milar numerals refer to similar parts throughout. the'several views.

In the drawings:

Figure 1' is a view in front elevation of one form of garment embodying the-invention;

Figure 2 is a view in verticaLcross-section taken along the line 2-2 of' Figure 1', illustrating the relative disposition of the outer trunks" and the inner garment;

Figure 3 is a sectionalview of the garment shown in Figure 1, viewing the shorts from: the front and illustrating the; disposition of the inner garment within the outer trunks; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged crossesectional View taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3, illustrating a type of fastening device which may be utilized to secure the inner garment to the outer trunks.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the garment indicated generally by the numeral 10 may be made up of a pair of outer trunks 12 of substantially conventional design and appearance, and an independent inner garment I4 similar to legless underdrawers. The upper edge It of the rear portion of the inner garment M is preferably removably secured to the rear portion N3 of the outer trunks l2 substantially parallel and in spaced relation below the upper edge 29' of the outer trunks. Suitable holding means may be provided; for this purpose such as, for example, the snap fasteners 22, which are best shown in Figures 3 and a. It is obvious, of course, that if desired, these snap fasteners may be eliminated and the upper edge of the rear portion of the inn r garment united to the rear portion of the outer trunks, as described, by appropriately stitching the two component parts together along the upper edge I8 of the inner garment.

It should be noted that ony the rear half of the inner garment is so secured to the corresponding rear halt of. the outer trunks, so that the front upper edge of the inner garment 24 freely extends across the inner side 25 of the front upper edge 28' of the outer trunks. This unsecured portion of the upper edge of the inner garment may be formed of a band of suitable elastic material 38, which band has a length that is normally less than the length. of the corresponding portion-of the upper edge 28 of the outer trunks l2, as best shown in. Figure 2. Any other suitable means for constricting this unsecured portion of the waistband of the inner garment may be used. It mightv even be found. desirable to utilizea draw-string for thispurpose.

The outer trunks [2. may incorporate any suitable meansadapted to constrict the waistline and to hold the trunks in placev on the wearer. For example, the trunks may have a channel 32 formed in the-upper edge thereof which channel isadaptedto receive a belt member 34'. The two slits 36 and. 3S=may be provided in the outer wall of the channel 32. at the front of the trunks, as shown in Figure 1-, so that the two ends of the belt member 34 may extend out of the channel and be brought into cooperative holding relation after the garment has been properly placed-on the body of the wearer. This belt member 34 thus serves to support the outer trunks i2 on the waist of the wearer and. these supported trunks, inv turn; give support. to therear inner: garment ltd-1 Obviously other means could be utilized for this purpose, such as an attached half-belt in the front with a shirred elastic waistband in back, or it perhaps might be desirable to have the entire waistband formed of elastic material, as is the case in the so-called boxer type shorts.

Regardless of the exact type of construction utilized for the waistband of the outer trunks,

portion it of: thethe disposition of the rear upper edge it of the inner garment I4 is determined primarily by the disposition of the rear upper edge 20 of the outer trunks 12. However, as previously mentioned, the front upper edge 24 of the inner garment M is independent of the front upper edge 28 of the outer trunks and its disposition is therefore determined independently of the placement of the front upper edge 28 of the trunks [2. This feature, coupled with the fact that the upper edge of the inner garment is secured in spaced relation below the rear upper edge 20 of the trunks, permits the wearer to determine the degree of support he wishes to have from the inner garment by appropriately adjusting the front upper edge'2 i thereof and the elastic band 39. Two possible alternative positions of this edge 24 are shown by the dotted lines in Figiu'e 2. This feature results in the preservation of a trim line at the front upper edge 28 of the outer trunks at all times, in spite of possible variations in the disposition of the front upper edge 2% of the inner garment.

In other words, for a particular disposition of the waistline of the outer trunks l2 which provides the best appearance, the upper edge 24 of the innergarment I4 may be disposed over a fairly wide vertical range so that the wearer may select the degree of support which he wishes to obtain from the inner garment and still maintain the outer trunks I2 in the preferable position.

The outer trunks l2 may be made of any desirable material, which may vary depending upon the particular sport or sports for which the garment in question is designed. The inner garment, however, is preferably made of a suitable knitted material and may have a construction which is designed to provide adequate support and a snug fit without binding or bunching, by forming the garment of a plurality of pieces having theirv wales extending in predetermined directions to give them a resiliently conforming relation to the anatomy of the wearer, as is disclosed, for example, in U. S. Patent No. 2,012,879 issued August 27, 1935 to Arthur R. Kneibler, one of the present applicants.

It will thus be seen that a garment which incorporates this invention provides a different basic circumference at the waistline between the outer trunks and the inner garment, with the inner garment being provided with an elastic band member across the front thereof to insure a snug fitand appropriate support. This inner garment is also appropriately disposed with relation to the outer trunks so that an adjustability in the amount of support provided by the former is available whereas, at the same time, the outer trunks can be worn with their waist properly located for comfort and neat appearance without having to undergo thedisplacement effected for the inner garment, incident to the support adjustment.

The drawings and the above discussion are not intended to represent the only possible forms of this invention, in regard to details of construction. Changes in form and in the proportion of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalents are contemplated, as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, without departing from the 4 spirit or scope of this invention as further defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment of the character described comprising outer trunks, means adapted to constrict the waistline of said trunks and. to support said outer trunks from the waist of the wearer, an inner garment made of knitted material adapted to give support to the wearer, said inner garment being formed of a plurality of knittedpieces, the wales of which extend in directions such that said pieces have a resiliently conforming relation to the anatomy of the wearer and yet provide adequate support therefor, the upper edge of the rear portion of said inner garment being secured to the rear portion of said outer trunks substantially parallel and in spaced rela tion to the rear upper edge of said trunks, an elastic waistband at the front upper edge of said inner garment of lesser length than the front upper edge of the unconstricted waistline of said trunks, said elastic waistband of said inner garment being capable of being positioned on the wearer independently of said waistline of said trunks so as to enable the wearer to select the degree of support desired from said inner garment.

2. A garment of the character described comprising outer trunks, means adapted to constrict the waistline of said trunks and to support said outer trunks from the waist of the wearer, an inner garment made of knitted material, the wales of which are disposed so that said inner garment is relatively inextensible in a direction substantially normal to the waistline thereof and so that said inner garment gives support to the wearer, the upper edge of the rear portion of said inner garment being secured to the rear portion of said outer trunks substantially paral-- lel and in spaced relation to the rear upper edge of said trunks, an elastic waistband at the front upper edge of said inner garment of lesser length than the front upper edge of the unconstricted waistline of said trunks, said elastic waistband of said inner garment being capable of being positioned on the wearer independently of said waistline of said trunks so as to enable the wearer to select the degree of support desired from said inner garment.

3. A garment of the character described in claim 2, further characterized in that said upper edge of the rear portion of the inner garment is removably secured to the rear portion of said outer trunks.

WILLIAM R. S. MACRAE. ARTHUR R. KN'EIBLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,271,248 Walcof July 2, 1918 1,758,081 Masters et a1. May 13, 1930 2,034,312 Rubin Mar. 17, 1936 2,448,705 Dobson Sept. 7, 1948 

